This was my first cruise with Royal Caribbean International and my 6th cruise, period. Overall, I was very impressed, especially with the staff. They were by far the highlight of the trip. From the friendly faces at the Café Promenade who helped me wake up every morning with my cappuccino, to the excellent spa masseuses who did our couples massage, to the bartenders and the first-rate dinner staff, and last, but not least, our cabin steward, the employees of this ship were what made this cruise so special. The ship itself is very nice, if showing its age a bit.

The door to our balcony creaked a lot and it really bothered my wife, less so me. I actually liked how the cabin was laid out, there was plenty of room for our things, and we took others' advice and brought magnetic hooks which were a boon in terms of letting us hang things up. The TV offerings were fairly routine, but I don't tend to watch much TV on a cruise, anyway.

Some highlights were the many bars, Johnny Rockets (superb!), the spa (thanks to Sophia Le Roux), the water slides, the jogging track, the Café Promenade (as previously mentioned), and the great ports of call. We opted for the UP (unlimited beverage package) and took full advantage of it. It was on sale for 30% off when I pulled the trigger and was well worth it. I tried lots of new, different drinks as well as trusty favorites. The bartenders were great, especially Randeer at the Solarium Bar as well as Luz at the pool bar. We met some fantastic fellow travelers, including some Canadians (French- and English speaking), Norwegians, British and of course other Americans. Read more